Patent Application
20140224851
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1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to storage bags intended to be mounted on fenders of all-terrain vehicles, and the like.
Prior Art
All terrain vehicle users' frequently have many selected articles that they want conveniently available to them while travelling on their vehicles or during stops made during, before, or after, travel on the vehicles. Such articles may include, for example; binoculars, telephones, GPS locators, signaling devices, range finders, first aid kits, some tools for vehicle repair, knives and even some handguns. All terrain vehicles, generally, have limited compartments, pockets or other storage locations built into the vehicles to receive and hold such articles until the operator decides to retrieve and use the articles. Storage compartments originally provided on an all terrain vehicle also may not be positioned to be easily accessed by an operator or a passenger riding on the vehicle, and access may be particularly difficult during vehicle travel.
In the past, many storage bags have been proposed, developed and sold for attachment to all terrain vehicles, which may be wheeled vehicles or tracked vehicles. Some of these bags fit on and attach to support racks of all-terrain vehicles and others have been designed to be mounted on and to conform to the shape of the fenders of the all terrain vehicles. However, there remains a need for a bag having a storage compartment that can be easily re-configured and restyled to facilitate and best accommodate articles to be placed therein, and to facilitate easy removal of some articles from a readily accessible configured compartment, without the user having to sift through all articles carried in a bag
Principal objects of the present invention are to provide a storage bag that can be readily secured to and thereafter be readily removed from an upper surface of a fender of an all terrain vehicle, and the like.
Other objects are to provide such a bag having a bag closure that will open to allow easy access by a user to the interior of the bag and selected contents thereof while effectively keeping dust and moisture from entering the bag, during use of the closed bag.
Still other objects are to provide a receptacle that will fit within the bag, through the bag closure to form differently configured compartments within the bag interior, insuring that separated content placed in the bag remains separated, while still making certain selected content more readily available, for quick and easy removal from the bag.
Yet other objects are to provide low cost, easily repositioned shelf brackets within the bag to support a receptacle in one of a plurality of selected, desired orientations.
Principal features of the invention include a storage bag having a back surface with a central core of substantially rigid material, such as plastic. The flat core extends downwardly between similar flat, spaced outer side wall cores of the bag and from a top of the bag to curve forwardly, in engagement with curved bottom edges of the side wall cores, to form a bag bottom. The flat core also engages the spaced apart side wall cores at bottoms of the side wall core edges and follows the curved side wall core edges upwardly to beneath upper curved edges of the side walls. The central core, and the spaced apart side cores having top and bottom curved edges are covered on both inner and outer surfaces with fabric sewn, or otherwise secured, to hold the central core and side wall cores together and to thereby form a storage bag pouch with an interior and a top front opening.
A flip top lid cover has a fabric covered curved core and spaced apart, fabric covered side edges shaped to fit over the top front opening. Fabric covering one edge of the curved core is sewn, or otherwise attached to the fabric covering the flat core at the top rear of the bag and serves as a hinge for the lid.
Easily released latch means secure the flip top lid closed over the top front opening.
A pair of spaced parallel attachment strips of hook and loop material, such as that commercially known by and hereinafter referred to by the trade name, “VELCRO”, are affixed to each interior surface of the side walls of the bag.
The attachment strips are positioned to extend from just above the bottom of the bag to just below the bottom of the top front opening and each strip has the same strip material, i.e., looped material or hooked material, facing the interior of the bag.
A pair of easily constructed and inexpensive, lightweight shelf brackets, each having an anchor strip with a face of either the looped material or hooked material that is cooperative with the material of the attachment strips that face the interior of the bag are used to position a receptacle in the bag pouch. The anchor strip of each shelf bracket extend from across one attachment strip on one side wall of the bag to across the other attachment strip on the same side wall of the bag. The shelf brackets are easily adjusted along the lengths of the attachment strips by pulling the anchor strips-from the attachment strips, repositioning the shelf brackets along the attachment strips and again pushing the shelf supports against the side walls to interlock the cooperative loop and hook materials.
A receptacle has front, rear and spaced apart side walls and a bottom interconnecting the front rear and side walls and an open top. The receptacle may fit snugly into the open top front of the bag, with opposite edges of the bottom resting on the shelf brackets. In this position the open top of the receptacle is above or below the top edge of the front wall of the bag, depending on the position of the shelf brackets and is open towards the top of the bag. With this receptacle orientation and the bag positioned to be readily accessible on an ATV vehicle fender, in an upright or tilted bottom to top position articles, such as binoculars, telephone, GPS unit, etc. placed in the receptacle are readily accessed by the user, merely by first flipping the top lid cover to its open position. At the same time, other articles positioned and carried in the bag beneath the bottom of the receptacle are maintained separated from articles in the receptacle and are not disturbed during removal of an article or articles carried in the receptacle. Although the carrying space in the receptacle will not change, the space in the receptacle and above the receptacle, but beneath the flip top lid, will change as the shelf brackets are vertically repositioned on the anchor strips affixed to the inside of the side walls of the bag. This allows articles of different sizes, shapes and other characteristics to be carried in and extending above the receptacle, while maintaining separation from articles tarried in the bottom of the pouch in a manner permitting more ready retrieval of the selected articles placed in the receptacle.
The receptacle may be alternatively timed by a user to position edges of either side wall to be supported on the shelf brackets. This arrangement of the receptacle: is particularly suitable when the bag is attached to an ATV fender and is horizontal, or substantially horizontal when the vehicle is on a level or substantially level surface. With the receptacle to be so arranged a user can place articles in the bag; in the spate between the bottom of the bag and the bottom of the side wall that is resting on the adjustable shelf brackets before positioning the receptacle. Additional articles to be maintained separate and available for easy, quick retrieval are then placed in the receptacle through the upwardly turned top front inlet opening of the bag. Articles in the receptacle can thereafter be easily retrieved by the user, without disturbing other articles in the bag, merely by first flipping the bag top lid open.
Additional objects and features of the invention will become apparent from the hereinafter set forth detailed description and drawings, to those skilled in the art to which the invention pertains
The numbers applied to components of the invention are as follows:
10 bag.
12 bag back surface.
14 rigid core of back surface.
16 core of sidewall 20.
18 core of sidewall 22.
20 sidewall of bag 10.
22 sidewall of bag 10.
24 lower curved edge, of core 16.
26 lower curved edge of core 18.
28 upper curved edge of core 16.
30 upper curved edge of core 18.
32 top edge of inlet opening 34 of bag pouch 36.
34 inlet opening of bag pouch 36.
38 inner faces of cores 14, 16, and 18.
40 fabrics.
42 pouch of bag 10.
44 flip top cover.
46 curved central core.
48 flat side core of flip top cover 44.
50 flat side core of flip top cover 44.
52 hinge connection.
56 fabric strip.
58 fabric strip.
60 exposed faces of strips 56 and 58.
62 shelf support.
64 backing member of shelf supports.
66 attachment surface of backing member 64.
68 elongate, fabric covered foam plastic rib.
70 finger loop.
72 receptacle
76 bottom of receptacle 72.
78 rectangular side wall of receptacle 72.
80 rectangular side wall of receptacle 72.
82 square end wall of receptacle 82.
84 square end wall of receptacle 82.
86 pull tab.
88 pull tab.
90 adjustable strap.
92 female latch receiver member.
94 latch.
96 adjustable strap.
98 male latch insert member.
100 D-rings:
102 straps.
Referring now to the drawings:
In the illustrated preferred embodiment of the invention, the storage bag 10 is shown in
As shown best in
Inner and outer faces of the cores 14, 16 and 18 are respectively covered with fabrics 38 and 40 that are sewn to hold the cores together and to form pouch 36 of bag 10.
A flip top lid cover 44 is provided to cover inlet opening 34 of the bag pouch 36. The flip top Cover 44 also has a curved central core 46 interconnecting spaced apart flat side cores 48 and 50. The cores 46, 48 and 50 are also respectively covered with and held together to form the flip top lid cover, by inner and outer fabrics 38 and 40. The fabric covered, spaced apart cores 48 and 50 are spaced to slide against the fabric covered cores 16 and 18 as the cover is pivoted to open and close the bag pouch 36. The fabrics 38 and 40, between the pouch 36 and top lid cover 44 form a hinge connection 52 between the flip top cover 44 and the pouch 36 of the bag 10.
Opening 34 of the pouch 36 of the bag 10 has a rectangular configuration formed by the interconnected, upwardly curved portions of fabric covered core 14 and the spaced apart fabric covered side wall cores 16 and 18.
A pair of fabric strips 56 and 58, each having an exposed face 60, are spaced apart and sewn, or otherwise vertically affixed, to the inner fabric 38 of each core 16 and 18. The exposed faces 60 are the same and are either a hook or a loop material, such as is common to VELCRO™ products. Each pair of strips 56 and 58 serve as supports for a shelf support 62.
Each shelf support 62 has a backing member 64 with a length sufficient to extend across both strips 56 and 58 attached to a core 16 or 18. An attachment surface 66 of each backing member 64 comprises a hook or loop material surface that will cooperate with the material of the exposed faces 60 of fabric strips 56 and 58 to secure the shelf supports transversely across the fabric strips.
Each shelf support 62 has an elongate, fabric covered foam plastic rib 68 attached to and projecting from the face of the backing member 64 opposite to the attachment surface 66. A finger loop 70 is sewn or otherwise attached to the backing member and projects there from to provide a means for pulling and removing each shelf support from engagement with a pair of parallel strips 56 and 58. A shelf support 62 is adjustably attached to each pair of strips 56 and 58 such that the ribs 68 are parallel and similarly spaced from the bottom of the pouch 36. The ribs 68 project from and provide support for a receptacle 72.
Receptacle 72 has a bottom 76 interconnecting spaced apart, rectangular side walls 78 and 80 that are connected to spaced apart square end walls 82 and 84. Pull tabs 86 and 88 are respectively attached to centers of top edges 90 of side walls 78 and 80. Receptacle 72 is sized and shaped such that it can be inserted either bottom or a side first, through the opening of the pouch of the bag and into the pouch 36 while being in close sliding engagement with the fabric covered back core 14 and side cores 16 and 18 of the bag 10.
The bottom 76, or a side wall 78 or 80 of the inserted receptacle 72 rests on the ribs 68 of shelf supports 62 and the distance the receptacle is inserted into the pouch 36 is determined by the positioning of the shelf supports 62. A user, in determining the positioning of the shelf supports 62, determines whether the bag is to be mounted on an ATV in an upright or tilted position or in a horizontal or substantially horizontal position. The user determines the size, dimensions and other characteristics of the article or articles to be kept separated from other articles carried in the bag and then positions the shelf mounts such that the space in and above, or in the inserted receptacle, when the flip top cover 44 is closed, will accommodate such separated article or articles. Other articles may be stored in the bag 10, before insertion of the receptacle, and between the inserted bottom or an inserted side wall of the receptacle 72, to be retrieved, when desired, after removal of the receptacle 72 from the opening 34 of the bag 10.
An adjustable strap 90 has one end attached to the top of flip top cover 44 and a conventional female latch receiver member 92 of a latch 94 on the other end. Another adjustable strap 96 has one end attached to the front of pouch 42. The other end of strap 94 has a conventional male latch insert member 96 that is inserted into member 92 to secure the flip top cover in position closing the pouch 42. Latch 94 is easily released and the flip top cover is easily pivoted open with one hand by a user desiring to retrieve an article from the receptacle
Additional loops 98 and straps 100 may be attached to the pouch 42, to be used in securing the bag 10 to a fender of an ATV vehicle, if desired.
Although a preferred embodiment of the invention has been herein disclosed, it is to be understood that such disclosure is by way of example and that variations are possible without departing from the subject matter corning within the scope of the following claims, which claims define our invention.
